For a liquid crystal panel that functions as a quarter-wave plate, it is known to provide a configuration in which the liquid crystal panel is tilted with respect to the optical axis by an angle equal to the angle (pretilt angle) that the long axis direction of liquid crystal molecules makes with the glass substrate (refer, for example, to patent document 1). By tilting the liquid crystal panel in this manner, the long axis direction of the liquid crystal molecules can be oriented at right angles to the optical axis, and the liquid crystal panel can thus be made to function as a perfect quarter-wave plate.
It is also known to provide a liquid crystal panel in which two liquid crystal layers are formed using three glass substrates, one liquid crystal layer being formed as an aberration correcting layer and the other as a quarter-wave plate (refer, for example, to patent document 2). In the liquid crystal panel described in patent document 2, the rubbing direction of the liquid crystal layer formed as the quarter-wave plate is oriented at an angle of 45 degrees relative to the rubbing direction of the aberration correcting liquid crystal layer, and the liquid crystal panel thus fabricated is arranged perpendicularly relative to the optical axis.    Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Publication No. 3142251 (page 3 and FIG. 2)    Patent document 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-34996 (page 29 and FIG. 21).